


Lingering

by bansheee



Category: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 03:58:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13158795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bansheee/pseuds/bansheee
Summary: Moments with Bram would always linger.





	Lingering

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sybris](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sybris/gifts).



> This fic is a gift for Syb from the creeksecrets Discord server secret santa! Happy Holidays!

Simon loved kissing Bram, even from the very start of his career kissing Bram. He was obsessed with the way Bram’s lips seemed to linger every time he pulled back, and how impossibly soft they always were. Even when he wasn’t kissing Bram, the thought of the way Bram kissed stayed with him constantly. He’d come to associate the words  _ soft and lingering _ with his boyfriend’s kisses, so naturally, the time he got to spend with Bram where it felt like that was his favorite.   
  
Bram’s entire body was pressed against his as they sat on Simon’s bed, talking softly with fingers twisted together. Their winter break homework was forgotten on the bed next to them, tangent after tangent taking them further away from Shakespeare. Simon had just been thinking of moving closer to steal one of Bram’s lingering kisses when, from all the way downstairs, his mom called, “Simon! Take Bieber on a walk! Now!”   
  
Simon closed his eyes and sighed. He felt Bram’s quiet laughter next to him. While he weighed the costs of pretending he didn’t hear his mom, he felt Bram shift next to him. He watched while Bram stood and stretched, the bottom of his shirt riding up just enough to give Simon a peek at his brown skin. Even though Bram’s shirt - and many other articles of clothing - had been off numerous times in this very room, something felt intimate about the sneak peek when it wasn’t intentional.   
  
Bram was smirking when Simon’s eyes drifted up to his. “Just saying, one text to the group and we can be alone,” Simon said, grinning back.   
  
To Simon’s delight, Bram took a step towards him and kneeled back onto Simon’s bed. To even more delight, he pressed one of his slow and soft and lingering kisses to Simon’s lips.   
  
“Come on,” Bram whispered against his lips. God, he loved Bram’s mouth. Unfortunately, Bram’s mouth moved away as he said, “People are going to be here soon.”   
  
“Like I said, I’m totally okay with abandoning this party and staying up here with you instead,” Simon said. Still, he scooted off his bed and grabbed a sweatshirt from his floor. It was Bram’s, and it said CREEKWOOD VARSITY SOCCER in big letters on the front. After Bram pulled on a different soccer sweatshirt, Simon laced their fingers together and they left his room.   
  
“Simon! You are going to lose the already very reluctant permission to have Bram in your room if you don’t-”   
  
“We’re right here, Mom, God,” Simon said at the top of the staircase. Bram squeezed his hand as they walked down the steps in tandem. When his mom came into view, her eyes were narrowed into slits. Bram took a step closer to him.   
  
“Take Bieber. For a walk. Now.” She punctuated every other word with a Snape-like pause. “Or Bram can go home, and you can cancel your Christmas party.”   
  
If Bram wasn’t there, Simon would probably push his mother’s buttons one step further and point out that it was a Christmas and Hanukkah party, but he didn’t really feel like losing permission for a party all of his friends were excited for. Even though he joked about it with Bram, they’d all been looking forward to a quiet night together before separating to spend the holiday with family.   
  
“Come’re, Biebs,” Simon called across the living room. For as insistent as his mother was, Bieber took his time lazily slinking off the couch and trotting over to them. He went right to Bram and touched his nose to Bram’s hand for pets. Simon clipped Bieber’s leash to his collar and opened the front door. “We’ll be back in a little bit.”   
  
They didn’t have any snow, but it was chilly enough that Simon shivered as soon as they got outside. He wrapped Bieber’s leash around his wrist and shoved his hands in his pockets. He couldn’t hold Bram’s hand as they walked anyway. Shady Creek wasn’t one of those neighborhoods.   
  
“We could walk to Nick’s and back,” Simon offered. “I bet Abby is already there.” Bram nodded, and they started towards the sidewalk. Just because they couldn’t hold hands didn’t mean that Simon wasn’t going to walk as close to Bram as possible. Their shoulders brushed on every step.   
  
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Bram suddenly said, “my dad is getting a dog.” Simon could tell he was trying to be casual, but there was something else in his tone. He secretly loved that he could understand Bram’s thoughts based on the tone of his voice or the expression on his face.   
  
“Really?” Simon questioned. He turned to him while Bieber sniffed at a patch of grass.   
  
“A puppy, actually,” he added. “My step-mother thinks it will be good for little fetus to have a companion.”   
  
“Did she actually say little fetus?” Little Fetus wasn’t even a fetus anymore, but an actual living newborn with hair and exactly one tooth, but they still used the nickname fondly.   
  
Bram shot him a dry look, but smiled. “Not the point.”   
  
“Sorry, I know. So you obviously don’t seem thrilled. Tell me what you’re thinking.” As soon as the words came out of his mouth, and even before Bram could raise a judgy eyebrow at him, Simon flinched. “Oh my god I sound like my mom.”   
  
Bram laughed and bumped his shoulder against Simon’s. “I used to beg my mom and dad for a dog.”   
  
Simon looked up from Bieber. Bram didn’t talk a lot about his parents from when they were together. They seperated when Bram was young, and the memories that Bram did share with Simon were scarce and far between.   
  
“My mom was - is - allergic and I think they knew they weren’t going to make it much longer.” The sadness in his voice was gone as quick as it came. Bram chuckled to himself. “I wanted a basset hound. I used to pick out names of superheroes and suggest them to my parents. I would go all out with my presentations about how I was responsible enough to have one.”   
  
“Steve the basset hound,” Simon said.   
  
Bram rolled his eyes. “Because Bieber is any better.”   
  
“Hey, that was all Alice,” Simon argued. He looked down to Bieber and then back up to Bram. “You should walk him. If you want.”   
  
Bram looked to the leash. “Yeah, okay.” They stopped for a second while Bram secured the strap of the leash around his wrist, before crossing the street. Every time Bieber stopped to sniff something, Bram waited patiently for him before walking further. The walk to Nick’s usually only took Simon seven minutes, but Simon was okay with the extension.   
  
The domesticity of the moment wasn’t lost on him. His heart was giving all sorts of thumps and twists. Simon couldn’t help but let his thoughts go to what it would be like if they could move from Shady Creek. Just he and Bram. Maybe one day they could have an apartment and walk around the block with a dog of their own in a neighborhood where they didn’t have to think twice about holding hands.   
  
He didn’t know what the post-Creekwood future had in store for he hand Bram, and talking about it only made both of them feel worse. But now, daydreaming about a life with Bram seemed harmless and it left him feeling warm and happy.   
  
Seeming to notice his silence, Bram nudged him with his elbow. “Where did you just go?”   
  
Simon looked to him and smiled. “Thinking about you with a dog.” It wasn’t strictly the truth, but Simon didn’t want to start a discussion when they were about to turn onto Nick’s street. Bram seemed happy with the answer either way.   
  
“Sometimes it’s just little things that remind me that my dad is starting over.” Before Simon could protest, Bram continued, “I know it’s not true, but it feels like that sometimes.”   
  
Simon’s heart ached for him. Bram confided in him a few times about how it felt to have a sibling that would always be seventeen years younger than he was. According to Bram, it was all his father seemed to talk about at their traditional Hotel Hanukkah earlier that week, and while it was nice to hear about his sibling that he loved to death, Bram’s father didn’t spend a lot of time on the subject of Bram. He wished he could think of the perfect thing to say to make Bram know it wasn't the case.   
  
Before Simon could think of anything, Bram looked at him. “Sorry, not exactly great pre-party material.”   
  
Simon smiled at him. “It’s okay.” He paused in front of Nick’s house and reached over to squeeze Bram’s hand. “But I just feel like I should say that I’m sure that’s not your dad’s intentions.”   
  
Bram squeezed back. “I know. And besides, I get enough of Bieber now anyway.”   
  
“Too much, if you ask me,” Simon said. He thought back to kissing Bram over studying for finals once junior year, when his door creaked open and startled them both. Simon was half way to kindly reminding his mother the act of knocking, when Bieber peeked his head around the door. The way Bram was smiling, he was thinking about the same moment.   
  
While they walked through Nick’s front yard, Simon pulled out his phone and texted him. Abby’s mom’s car was in the driveway.  _ We’re at your house, be decent _ . He showed the text to Bram before hitting send.   
  
Nick greeted them at the sliding door of the Eisner basement. Bieber tugged on the leash when he saw Abby, so Bram freed him to run to her and bask in the new person attention.   
  
“Hey, guys. So I feel like I have to say that we were just playing video games,” Nick said as they walked in. “and nothing else.”   
  
“Just making sure,” Simon said, grinning at both of them. “I had to protect Bram’s virtue.”   
  
Nick snorted. “Sure. Okay. Didn’t you just get permission to have him in your room again? Or have you two already lost that,  _ again _ ?”   
  
“We’re officially allowed to be in there with the door open,” Bram said. He was grinning. “But it’s still better than sharing a wall with my mother.”   
  
“At least you’re allowed to have boys over,” Abby said from the couch. “I’m pretty sure my dad still thinks I’m going to get pregnant holding Nick’s hand.” She stood and stretched.   
  
“At least we don’t have that problem.” Simon grinned at Bram.   
  
Abby rolled her eyes. “We were just thinking about heading to your place, Simon, should we get going?”   
  
While they waited for Nick and Abby to get ready for the walk and for Bieber to sniff around Nick’s backyard, Simon pulled Bram outside and away from the door. Nick’s backyard had a privacy fence around it and was lit with the faint glow of their neighbor’s christmas lights. He took both of Bram’s hands in his and pulled him closer. The tip of Bram’s nose had the faintest touch of pink from the cold and the closeness. Simon wanted to kiss it.   
  
“Happy Hanukkah,” Simon said softly. “And Merry Christmas.”   
  
“Merry Christmas,” Bram said back. He leaned in and gave Simon one of his sweet and soft and slightly cold and slow kisses. Before he pulled back, Simon whispered his love right on Bram’s skin.   
  
He didn’t pull back even when Abby and Nick came out and started laughing, or even when Nick announced that Leah and Garrett were at Simon’s wondering where they were. Just like the length of their walk or the way Bram’s lips met his, Simon wanted to hold on to the moment just a little bit longer.   
  
Moments with Bram would always linger.


End file.
